Who are some of your favorite Canadian authors...and why?

[Cheryl Kaye Tardif]

There are so many talented Canadian authors--from Margaret Atwood to Peter Robinson to Illona Haus to Wayson Choy to Wendy Morton to...

Well, you get the picture. Which Canadian author has entertained you, inspired you, made you laugh, made you cry...or scared the crap out of you?

[Alison Clarke]

For me, the Canadian authors who have touched me the most are L.M. Montgomery, Margaret Laurence, and Margaret Atwood. With L.M. Montgomery, she inspired me to be the best that I could be. When Gilbert, in Anne of Green Gables, admired smarts over beauty, that really inspired me to embrace my intellectual gifts. Because of the viewpoints of characters like Gilbert, Marilla, and Matthew, being an unconventional female--one who wants to achieve academically, career-wise, as well as finding love--was socially acceptable. I think that also inspired female readers, like myself, to go after our dreams; and not let any man get in the way. Anne never gave up her school for Gilbert: she continued to excel, beating him for one scholarship. Marilla and Matthew were also proud of her accomplishments, saying that it wasn't a boy who won the Avery scholarship, got accepted into Redmond college, and got a B.A. on top of already being a teacher. This was accomplished by a girl--an orphan no less. If you read at least the first book, L.M. did talk about how being an orphan was a stigma in early twentieth century society. Kids who had no parents were social pariahs; people were afraid that adopting an orphan would lead him/her to burn adoptees' houses to the ground--or that these orphans would kill their adoptive parents out of anger, and hate. Rachel Lynde gives an example of an orphan, who killed a whole family, by poisoning their well. But Anne broke these stereotypes, falsehoods, and the stigma attached to being an orphan. She also had red hair, which, in the previous days of the twentieth century, and earlier, having red hair was associated with the devil, being dangerously out-of-control, and emotionally unstable. Anne was neither of these things: yes, she was flightly, creative, unconventional, but never threatening, intimidating, or had any evil intentions. Anne bucked all these stereotypes, and opened up the eyes of Avonlea. I like how she just went forward and did something--without caring how people thought. When she was a bridesmaid more than once, she never freaked out--never believing the saying that three times a bridesmaid, never a bride. Anne was never vain, not always checking on her make-up, and obsessed with the latest fashion trends. Yes, she liked her puffed sleeves, but she didn't centre her whole life around it. I much preferred her to the other girl, blonde, who had no life, and just ogled the boys. I know that's why Gilbert fell in love with her--she had her own mind, heart, ambition, intelligence, compassion, sincerity, and felt a lot of empathy for people. When Marilla's eyesight was going bad, she gave up going to a university to stay at Green Gables and help out. She ended up teaching at the local school--thanks to Gilbert--and continued her schooling through correspondence. Anne was always very determined, and I also loved that about her.

One of the scenes of Anne of Green Gables that affected me the most was when Matthew died. It was just so sad. He was just a merry, kind, thoughtful old soul. When he went to the store to buy the dress with puff sleeves for Anne, but pretended to being doing something else, I just laughed. I know this scene was in the movie--but I think that it was in the book too. Definitely, Matthew and Anne were kindred spirits. But, a good thing did come out of it--for every tragedy, there is a silver lining--Anne got closer to Marilla. Marilla lost all her prickliness, and her softer nature shone through.

I also liked how the relationship between Anne and Gilbert mirrored the one between Marilla and Gilbert's father. They courted before he ended up marrying Gilbert's mother. For awhile you think, will Anne make the same mistake? But then in the end, you get an answer that is not heartbreaking.

I also thought that L.M. Montgomery's House of Dreams was very poetic, with beautiful imagery. The stories of the lighthouse captain, the lady who was unhappily married, a man she met who immediately fell in love with her, Anne's first encounter with severe, devastating heartache, and so on was beautifully written. You could imagine each scene as how L.M. had written it. One day, I will go on a pilgrimage to Prince Edward Island. I want to see Green Gables for myself, and see the places that L.M. wrote about in the Anne series. That would be very inspiring. My aunt went there two years ago, and just loved it. She is a major fan of Anne, the Road to Avonlea series, and of course the three movies that were done by Kevin Sullivan. I also saw all three films, and they were all awesome, funny, entertaining, hilarious in some parts, touching, heartbreaking, and unforgettable.

L.M. is an inspiration in herself: I wrote a report on her in highschool. She loved cats, had a lifelong male pen pal--they never had an affair--wrote constantly, put out many books, as well as being a wife and mother of two kids. She was the working woman before it was acceptable to be one. She is my hero because of that--as well as writing an uplifting, unique, and ubiquitous character who charmed and won over not just me, but many readers. The Japanese are also fascinated with Anne of Green Gables, and go to Prince Edward Island in droves. I don't know why that is, but it's true.

Another writer who really inspires me, as well as her characters, is Margaret Laurence. She is just awesome--she wrote the Stone Angel, which is just one of my favourite books--not just of my Canadian collection, but of my entire book collection. The main character, Hagar, is so honest--abrupt sometimes, but always honest, and authentic. She had real regrets in her life, but she managed to deal with her demons. I won't say how it ends, for people who want to read it, but that story really affected me in a deep way. I saw how important it was not to have regrets, and to make peace with the mistakes that you have made, and to heal relationships with those who suffered from your mistakes. It is a very powerful novel. I now have the whole Manawaka series--I am looking forward to reading it when I have some time. I remember when this remarkable author passed on when I was in grade twelve. The library in Queen Elizabeth had at least one poster in tribute to this wonderful lady. She was very prolific, did not make much money--I'm sure that Margaret Atwood made more--but she was able to live in a house, have food to eat, and any other amenities she needed, to live. One of her books was made into a movie, starring the actress from the long running series Street Legal. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but one of these days I will.

Margaret Atwood is another Canadian writer that I enjoy thoroughly. I really liked her poetry that was taught in my Grade 12 English class. Her poetry was interesting, different, and had a style all its own. My English teacher, Mr. Newton, thought her poetry was strange--I didn't; instead, I thought it was revolutionary, innovative, and refreshing. One of my friends has remarked that some of my poetry reminds him of Margaret Atwood's stuff. That's quite a compliment. The Blind Assassin is a novel that I quite enjoyed; it was part biography--of the main character--part science fiction, pulp fiction style, and part introspective. It was also a story within a story. It was just awesome.

These three authors, all women, I didn't choose it that way, all represent the best in Canadian literature. I love stories about the women, their struggles, their triumphs, hearing their regrets, and learning from their wisdom. I feel that reading is also a therary, a journey for me, as well as the characters in these books. That is how I feel about Canadian literature.